The discovery of native silver deposits at Kongsberg, Norway, in 1623 created interest for silver specimens and mineral collecting, also among mining officers. Large collections were donated by J. Hiort, M.T. Brünnich and J. Esmark to the Mining Academy at Kongsberg. The Academy’s collections were in 1814 transferred to the University of Oslo. From 1841 The Kongsberg Silver Mines built up their own collections.